Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Puerto Rico’s first bond issue since the commonwealth defaulted on a debt payment has been pushed out to Thursday at the earliest as investors evaluate the risk of the island’s restructuring plans, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

Puerto Rico’s main water utility plans to sell $750 million of revenue bonds, the first debt offering from the financially struggling Caribbean island since it defaulted on securities sold by one of its agencies last week, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The deal may price as soon as next week. It will follow the Public Finance Corp.’s failure to make a full bond payment on Aug.

This article tests the premise of limited federal court involvement in municipal bankruptcy cases against the real world of Detroit’s restructuring. The study is based on listening to digital audio recordings of court hearings and status conferences throughout the case in nearly real time, coupled with other primary source materials.

Puerto Rico's entrenched economic crisis is leading people to either cut their personal spending to the basics or flee to the mainland to search for jobs, contributing to the struggles of those left on the island, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. Nearly 10 years into a deep economic slump, Puerto Rico is no closer to pulling out, and, in fact, is poised to plummet further.

Other Resources

The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico was created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and one ex officio member designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico. Access information on the Board, documents, videos of meetings, calendar of events and live webcasts by clicking here.